18-004 Sheriff's Automated Contact Reporting (SACR)
SHERIFF'S AUTOMATED CONTACT REPORTING (SACR)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Field Operations Directive (FOD) is to establish Department policy and procedures for the usage of the Sheriff’s Automated Contact Reporting (SACR) application by sworn personnel, to include supervisor responsibility, proxy responsibility, workflow, and records retention.
BACKGROUND
Assembly Bill 953 (AB 953), also known as the Racial and Identity Profiling Act, was signed into law by the Governor in 2015, enacting section 12525.5 of the Government Code (12525.5 GC). As 12525.5 GC mandates, each state and local agency employing peace officers shall submit specific information, referred to as “stop data,” to the California State Attorney General regarding police practices pertaining to racial and identity profiling.
Pursuant to AB 953, the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) was established. The RIPA board was tasked with authoring regulations pertaining to “stop data” collection, of which, “shall specify all data to be reported, and provide standards, definitions, and technical specifications to ensure uniform reporting practices across all reporting agencies.” The legislation, with its regulations, is the basis for the Department’s development of the SACR application, and strictly governs the specific requirements of the “stop data” that sworn personnel must provide within the SACR application.
Specifically, the “stop data” regulations require law enforcement officers answer a series of questions regarding their interactions with civilians, based on their perceptions, observations, and actions. These reporting requirements apply when a person is detained or searched (including a consensual search), or property in their possession or control is searched, during an observation stop (traffic, pedestrian, bicycle), or a call for service.
POLICY
The following personnel shall make a “stop data” entry into the SACR application after conducting a civilian contact. They include, but are not limited to, the following:
Any sworn member working a patrol assignment; Any sworn member working a detective assignment, specialized unit, and special task force (OSS, COPS, parole compliance, federal task force, etc.); Any sworn member working Department contracted overtime (parades, concerts, movies, sporting events); Any school resource deputy; and Any sworn member working in a courthouse or custody facility where there is civilian (public) contact.
AND
When any of the following situations occur during a civilian contact (observation such as traffic, pedestrian, bike stops, or calls for service):
- Detention;
- Search of person or property under person’s control (including consensual search); or
- Arrest.
Exception
Per AB 953 regulations, the following interactions, shall not be reported as a “stop data” entry:
Custodial setting/inmates (jail, lock up, station jail, etc.); Mass evacuations (bomb threats, gas leaks, flooding, earthquakes, etc.); Active shooter incident; Routine security screenings (required of all persons entering a building, special event, metal detector screening, and any secondary searches resulting from that screening); Checkpoints or roadblocks where vehicles are randomly selected using a neutral formula (unless additional action is taken); Interaction with a person who is the subject of a warrant or search condition at his or her residence; Interaction with a person who is under home detention or house arrest at his or her residence; Traffic control of vehicles due to a traffic accident or emergency (unless additional action is taken); Crowd control (unless additional action is taken); and Persons detained at a residence only so officers may check for proof of age regarding underage drinking (unless additional action is taken).
PROCEDURE
The SACR application entry is separate and additional from the required entries in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, per Department Manual of Policy and Procedures section 5-09/520.25, “Logging Field Activities.” All “stop data” shall be reported via the SACR application, which is accessible via the Mobile Digital Computer (MDC) in each patrol unit or any Sheriff’s Data Network (SDN) computer. It shall be the responsibility of the sworn employee to enter “stop data” into the SACR application for his/her own daily contacts. Per the regulations of AB 953, the “stop data” must be recorded by the end of the shift in which the contact occurred, unless exigent circumstances preclude doing so.
The SACR application shall be employed to enter the “stop data” via MDC or SDN computer. If there is no access to a MDC or SDN computer due to logistical (specialized unit, specialized event, or outside overtime which does not require or allow immediate access to a MDC or SDN computer) or technical issues, a Contact Report form (SH-R-636) shall be utilized to record the “stop data.” The information from the form shall be used to enter the “stop data” into the SACR application by the sworn employee who conducted the stop, or the unit’s authorized proxy, when the application is accessible. If the Contact Report form is utilized, the author must fill out the “Report Late Reason” box, to allow proper documentation when the information is entered into the SACR application at a later time.
Entering the Information
The SACR application operates in a guided format. All information fields with a red asterisk on each screen must be completed to advance to the next screen and cannot be skipped because the regulations of AB 953 mandate the information shall be provided by answering the designated questions.
For SACR reporting purposes, sworn personnel shall report their initial personal perceptions when answering the six perception questions on the form, versus reporting factual information which may be discovered after making contact with the civilian and asking for those facts. These questions pertain to the sworn employee’s perception of the following:
- Perceived race/ethnicity;
- Perceived age;
- Perceived gender;
- Perceived Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) status;
- Perceived English fluency; and
- Perceived disability of the civilian(s) contacted.
The option to select either the “perception made before contact,” or “perception made after contact” box, which is located on the “perceived ethnicity” screen within the SACR application, will provide details as to what point during the contact certain perceptions were made.
Per 12525.5(d) GC, law enforcement shall not list or report any personal identifying information of the civilian(s) contacted or sworn personnel conducting the stop, in the narrative fields. Therefore, within the open field narrative area of SACR entries, such as “Reason for Stop,” and “Reason for Search,” users shall not list names, addresses, social security numbers, etc., of any person. Sworn personnel are permitted to list the civilian’s name(s) in the initial entry screen where specified. This information will be used to differentiate and identify contacts, and will not be part of the information submitted to the Attorney General.
Sworn personnel shall check their “queue” on the “My Reports” screen to ensure all entries have been submitted. Rejected reports shall be corrected and re-submitted by the end of the employee’s first day back to work.
Note: Upon completion of a SACR entry, the user must select the green “submit” button, which removes the entry from the “My Reports” queue, and submits the entry for approval.
Sworn personnel completing MDC log entries and call clearances as a result of their normal work requirement shall be responsible for maintaining the consistency of data entered between their logs and SACR entries.
Approvers and Authorized Proxies
To ensure that all “stop data” is entered into the SACR application, any user who is unable to make a “stop data” entry due to system unavailability, may allow their unit-authorized proxy to enter and submit their “stop data” from a completed Contact Report form into the application. The unit commander may designate one or more proxies, according to staffing needs, who shall complete this task.
Supervisors at the rank of sergeant and above shall review and approve SACR entries which have been submitted for approval via the application. The unit commander may designate an approver(s) other than a sergeant, according to unit staffing needs.
Sergeants and/or unit designated personnel responsible for approving SACR entries shall inspect each entry and ensure the submissions do not contain personal identifying information of any person within the “Reason for Stop,” and “Reason for Search” narrative text boxes. The submissions containing personal identifying information shall be rejected and routed back to the submitting sworn employee for correction, or the approver may make the correction, and approve the form.
Each unit shall ensure that any entry with an “in progress” status does not remain in the unit’s SACR queue for a period of more than 24 hours. An entry with this status indicates it has not been completed and cannot be reviewed for approval. Approvers shall check the date and time stamps of “in progress” entries daily, which is an option on the SACR “Review” screen. The unit shall notify their sworn personnel of all entries listed in the unit’s queue as “in progress” for more than 24 hours, or as “rejected” and ensure the entries have been submitted, corrected, and approved by all concerned personnel in a timely manner.
Retention of Records
SACR application Contact Report forms used for proxy entries shall be retained by the concerned unit for a period of three years.
Training
Each unit commander of a patrol station or specialized unit required to report “stop data” per AB 953 shall designate a SACR application trainer for the unit. Designated trainers shall attend the Department’s SACR application “Train the Trainer” course taught by the Advanced Officer Training Unit. Each designated SACR application trainer shall be responsible for training all sworn personnel within their respective unit regarding the entry and approval process.
All sworn personnel who make civilian contacts or could potentially make civilian contacts that qualify under AB 953 reporting criteria shall attend the Department’s SACR application training class at their unit of assignment. Newly assigned patrol deputies shall attend the Department’s SACR application training with the Advanced Officer Training Unit while attending patrol school.
The SACR User Guide and Approver’s User Guide can be found on the SACR application home page, or the links referenced below.
For SACR application technical questions, log on issues, or authorized proxy or approver access, please contact the SACR application help desk by email at:[REDACTED TEXT]
If you have any questions regarding the information contained in this Field Operations Directive, please contact Field Operations Support Services, at [REDACTED TEXT]
REFERENCES
California Code of Regulations Title 11, Law Division 1, Enforcement; Chapter 19,
Final Text of Regulations, Articles 1-5.
SACR Website (Entries, Training, AB 953 Contact Report Form and Resources)
MPP section 5-09/520.05 - Stops, Seizures and Searches
MPP section 5-09/520.20 - Logging Public Contacts
MPP section 5-09/520.25 - Logging Field Activities